The Tax Foundation is the nation’s leading independent tax policy nonprofit. Since 1937, our principled research, insightful analysis, and engaged experts have informed smarter tax policy at the federal, state, and global levels. For over 80 years, our goal has remained the same: to improve lives through tax policies that lead to greater economic growth and opportunity.

State and Local Funding Totals Under the CARES Act

April 1, 2020

Jared Walczak

Jared Walczak

State and local governments across the country split $150 billion in federal aid under a provision of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed on March 30th. The division of these dollars, made available through the new Coronavirus Relief Fund, has generated significant confusion. Here, we explain how the money is allocated, and provide a table showing the amount available for each state and eligible county across the country.

Allocation is by population, except that $3 billion is reserved for U.S. territories and the District of Columbia, $8 billion is set aside for tribal governments, and each state is guaranteed at least $1.25 billion even if its population share would otherwise indicate a lesser amount.

Local governments with populations of 500,000 or more are also eligible for aid, a provision responsible for much of the confusion. Localities are permitted to claim 45 percent of the amount allocated for their population, while the state retains the other 55 percent as it also serves that population. The state also retains 100 percent of the amount allocated to populations not within a locality of 500,000 or more.

To see how this works, consider the example of Ohio:

Total state and local share under the CARES Act: $4.53 billion

State population: 11.69 million

4.44 million people live within the 5 eligible counties of 500,000+ people

$1.72 billion is associated with that share of the population

These counties can claim 45 percent, or $775 million, of this total

The state retains the remaining 55 percent associated with this population ($946 million)

7.25 million residents live outside an eligible locality

$2.81 billion is associated with this share of the population

That entire amount goes to state government

In total, the state government is eligible for about $3.76 billion and local governments get $775 million

The diagram below illustrates this concept. Note how state and eligible local governments split the funding associated with their populations, while the state retains all money associated with the share of the state’s population that lives outside an eligible jurisdiction.

Notably, the language of the CARES Act mentions counties, cities, and other local governing bodies—and, with a few exceptions, cities are situated within counties, meaning that in many cases there are overlapping eligible populations. The city of Columbus, Ohio, for instance, is the county seat of Franklin County, and both have populations in excess of 500,000.

It is not clear how the U.S. Treasury Department will handle such overlapping populations. One plausible interpretation is that the city can claim the share associated with its population and the county may claim the share associated with county residents outside the city. Treasury could also allow these jurisdictions to share the revenue in other ways. What is reasonably clear, however, is that they may not double up: Franklin County and all its subdivisions are entitled to a total of $230 million, however it may be divided between the city and county.

The following table shows how much is allocated to each state overall (state and local government combined), plus how that aid is broken out—the state share and the share for each eligible county or county equivalent (including independent cities). As with the example above, in some cases, cities within these counties may share in the amount indicated for the county.

This table uses the latest available population data, circa July 2019. It is possible that the Treasury Department will use different figures. The greatest possible effect of using a different population dataset would be the inclusion or exclusion of jurisdictions just on the cusp of the 500,000-person threshold. As of July 2019, for instance, Sonoma County, California had a population of 494,336, and Morris County, New Jersey had a population of 491,845. If either of these counties, or others that are in similar positions, were to exceed the 500,000 threshold under the count employed by the Treasury Department, local distributions would diverge slightly from the amounts indicated below.

Estimated State and Local Shares of Cares Act Funding

State

Jurisdiction

Amount

Alabama

Total Allocation

$1,901,376,504

State Share

$1,786,453,683

Jefferson County

$114,922,821

Alaska

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Arizona

Total Allocation

$2,822,569,714

State Share

$1,857,099,389

Maricopa County

$782,717,225

Pima County

$182,753,100

Arkansas

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

California

Total Allocation

$15,322,206,367

State Share

$9,526,137,621

Alameda County

$291,651,561

Contra Costa County

$201,293,497

Fresno County

$174,345,905

Kern County

$157,087,754

Los Angeles County

$1,751,852,108

Orange County

$554,167,091

Riverside County

$431,117,152

Sacramento County

$270,838,440

San Bernardino County

$380,430,899

San Diego County

$582,547,875

San Francisco County

$153,832,754

San Joaquin County

$132,996,947

San Mateo County

$133,769,122

Santa Clara County

$336,415,539

Stanislaus County

$96,091,702

Ventura County

$147,630,401

Colorado

Total Allocation

$2,233,145,460

State Share

$1,673,950,246

Adams County

$90,291,404

Arapahoe County

$114,576,782

Denver County

$126,900,343

El Paso County

$125,712,328

Jefferson County

$101,714,356

Connecticut

Total Allocation

$1,382,561,117

State Share

$913,181,962

Fairfield County

$164,614,059

Hartford County

$155,607,621

New Haven County

$149,157,475

Delaware

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$927,233,331

New Castle County

$322,766,669

Florida

Total Allocation

$8,328,721,940

State Share

$5,856,159,554

Brevard County

$105,040,554

Broward County

$340,765,195

Duval County

$167,130,913

Hillsborough County

$256,862,512

Lee County

$134,467,831

Miami-Dade County

$474,113,590

Orange County

$243,161,252

Palm Beach County

$261,190,530

Pasco County

$96,665,293

Pinellas County

$170,139,515

Polk County

$126,475,603

Volusia County

$96,549,598

Georgia

Total Allocation

$4,117,266,353

State Share

$3,503,081,996

Cobb County

$132,646,720

DeKalb County

$132,499,439

Fulton County

$185,659,967

Gwinnett County

$163,378,230

Hawaii

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$862,823,979

Honolulu County

$387,176,021

Idaho

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Illinois

Total Allocation

$4,913,928,948

State Share

$3,519,156,999

Cook County

$898,729,990

DuPage County

$161,052,283

Kane County

$92,905,805

Lake County

$121,547,296

Will County

$120,536,576

Indiana

Total Allocation

$2,610,646,554

State Share

$2,442,324,311

Marion County

$168,322,243

Iowa

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Kansas

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,034,052,049

Johnson County

$116,311,034

Sedgwick County

$99,636,917

Kentucky

Total Allocation

$1,732,491,935

State Share

$1,598,690,705

Jefferson County

$133,801,230

Louisiana

Total Allocation

$1,802,727,754

State Share

$1,802,727,754

Maine

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Maryland

Total Allocation

$2,344,417,741

State Share

$1,653,367,701

Anne Arundel County

$101,077,945

Baltimore city

$103,565,657

Baltimore County

$144,378,367

Montgomery County

$183,347,980

Prince George’s County

$158,680,092

Massachusetts

Total Allocation

$2,672,802,119

State Share

$1,655,720,328

Bristol County

$98,631,939

Essex County

$137,688,629

Middlesex County

$281,245,960

Norfolk County

$123,334,204

Plymouth County

$90,951,199

Suffolk County

$140,284,009

Worcester County

$144,945,850

Michigan

Total Allocation

$3,872,742,971

State Share

$3,080,874,821

Kent County

$114,640,476

Macomb County

$152,510,546

Oakland County

$219,451,908

Wayne County

$305,265,221

Minnesota

Total Allocation

$2,186,958,839

State Share

$1,870,033,167

Hennepin County

$220,893,126

Ramsey County

$96,032,546

Mississippi

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Missouri

Total Allocation

$2,379,996,144

State Share

$2,083,827,229

Jackson County

$122,677,376

St. Louis County

$173,491,539

Montana

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Nebraska

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,083,865,742

Douglas County

$166,134,258

Nevada

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$836,051,100

Clark County

$413,948,900

New Hampshire

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

New Jersey

Total Allocation

$3,444,370,826

State Share

$2,393,995,126

Bergen County

$162,671,843

Camden County

$88,380,599

Essex County

$139,423,361

Hudson County

$117,334,101

Middlesex County

$143,975,615

Monmouth County

$107,981,449

Ocean County

$105,955,647

Passaic County

$87,570,033

Union County

$97,083,053

New Mexico

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,067,817,494

Bernalillo County

$182,182,506

New York

Total Allocation

$7,543,778,952

State Share

$5,219,021,994

Bronx County

$247,481,068

Erie County

$160,316,055

Kings County

$446,710,197

Monroe County

$129,440,929

Nassau County

$236,787,014

New York County

$284,213,729

Queens County

$393,304,493

Suffolk County

$257,670,983

Westchester County

$168,832,489

North Carolina

Total Allocation

$4,067,110,763

State Share

$3,585,606,805

Guilford County

$93,738,358

Mecklenburg County

$193,760,212

Wake County

$194,005,388

North Dakota

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Ohio

Total Allocation

$4,532,845,506

State Share

$3,757,703,970

Cuyahoga County

$215,523,501

Franklin County

$229,777,586

Hamilton County

$142,651,313

Montgomery County

$92,780,861

Summit County

$94,408,274

Oklahoma

Total Allocation

$1,534,449,890

State Share

$1,281,597,801

Oklahoma County

$139,154,452

Tulsa County

$113,697,637

Oregon

Total Allocation

$1,635,570,763

State Share

$1,388,745,825

Multnomah County

$141,845,459

Washington County

$104,979,478

Pennsylvania

Total Allocation

$4,964,406,011

State Share

$3,935,406,029

Allegheny County

$212,203,236

Bucks County

$109,634,863

Chester County

$91,612,041

Delaware County

$98,898,929

Lancaster County

$95,230,357

Montgomery County

$144,996,980

Philadelphia County

$276,423,576

Rhode Island

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$910,740,118

Providence County

$339,259,882

South Carolina

Total Allocation

$1,996,588,712

State Share

$1,905,229,176

Greenville County

$91,359,536

South Dakota

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Tennessee

Total Allocation

$2,648,244,148

State Share

$2,363,576,014

Davidson County

$121,130,060

Shelby County

$163,538,075

Texas

Total Allocation

$11,244,137,605

State Share

$8,038,804,878

Bexar County

$349,625,748

Collin County

$180,563,264

Dallas County

$459,904,876

Denton County

$154,820,090

El Paso County

$146,449,366

Fort Bend County

$141,641,815

Harris County

$822,488,328

Hidalgo County

$151,591,789

Montgomery County

$105,991,420

Tarrant County

$366,894,718

Travis County

$222,308,518

Williamson County

$103,052,793

Utah

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$936,475,736

Salt Lake County

$202,499,486

Utah County

$111,024,778

Vermont

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Virginia

Total Allocation

$3,309,937,372

State Share

$3,109,689,845

Fairfax County

$200,247,527

Washington

Total Allocation

$2,952,933,375

State Share

$2,167,209,642

King County

$393,116,728

Pierce County

$157,921,528

Snohomish County

$143,455,771

Spokane County

$91,229,706

West Virginia

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Wisconsin

Total Allocation

$2,257,846,523

State Share

$1,997,414,905

Dane County

$95,399,799

Milwaukee County

$165,031,819

Wyoming

Total Allocation

$1,250,000,000

State Share

$1,250,000,000

Sources: CARES Act; U.S. Census Bureau; author’s calculations.

Errata: Due to a WordPress glitch with bullet points, this document was originally published omitting the first digit of Ohio’s population figures.

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The Tax Foundation is the nation’s leading independent tax policy nonprofit. Since 1937, our principled research, insightful analysis, and engaged experts have informed smarter tax policy at the federal, state, and global levels. For over 80 years, our goal has remained the same: to improve lives through tax policies that lead to greater economic growth and opportunity.